


Respite

by Lady_Ganesh



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Christian Holidays, Every family has That Asshole and it's not JJ, Gen, Holidays, Interfaith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/pseuds/Lady_Ganesh
Summary: JJ's house isn't home. But it's not a bad place to spend a holiday.The prompt was 'spiral.' Somehow, what stuck in my head was ham.
Relationships: Otabek Altin & Jean-Jacques Leroy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12
Collections: Rare Ships!!! on BINGO 2020





	Respite

JJ came out on the back porch with two plates full of food. "If it makes you feel any better," he said, "I'm not sure he's ever welcome at another Easter."

"It's not--"

"No," he said. "It's not your fault. You're not the first skater he's been a jerk about. Just maybe the last." 

"He's still your uncle."

JJ passed him the plate, and a fork. "He's still a jerk. And you're our guest. Why would anyone care if you didn't eat ham, anyway?"

Otabek shrugged and took the food. "You guys didn't have to--"

"Yeah," JJ said. "We did. Maman always says sometimes you have to draw a line. Besides, it's Easter. You can't be a jerk on Easter. It's in the rules." 

JJ's mother was a very, very good cook. Otabek couldn't pretend the ham hadn't smelled tempting. It wasn't even like his family was particularly devout or anything. He could have had a bite or two, out of politeness.

But he'd given up so much.

"I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't be home at Easter," JJ said, halfway through his own plate of food already. "I mean. I know it's not your holiday. I mean--"

"I know what you mean," Otabek said. At least, he mostly knew what JJ meant. JJ could be awkward sometimes, in a way that was more than just the usual clash of languages, where French-English met Kazakh-Russian. But he meant well, and he wasn't wrong about the homesick feeling.

It had been kind of him to invite Otabek for Easter. And the food sure tasted good. It was nice to be home with a family, especially a family as big as JJ's. It was fun to have kids running around again, and JJ's grandmother had taken a particular liking to him. Otabek had a little trouble with her accent--his French wasn't that good--but he'd definitely caught a few compliments about how polite he was. He wasn't sure _what_ she'd said to JJ's uncle, but he'd caught the gist from her tone. That felt a little like home, too, though he wasn't about to tell JJ that.

He'd had bad days before. Would again. Mostly he felt bad that they'd had to have a fight like that on a holiday. Easter was one of the big ones. JJ's little sister Rosalie had talked his ear off about how much fun she'd had hunting eggs, and how she'd had to fight her cousin Olivier because he'd wanted to steal her chocolate bunny. Otabek had told her it was very important for her to stay strong and stand up for her own needs.

"It's quieter out here, huh?" JJ said.

"Yeah," Otabek said. The food was really good too, especially the lamb.

"You know, you're the only skater I've ever trained with who has a family as big as mine," he said. "Well, mine's still bigger, but--you get more than two brothers or sisters and people start acting like your family's crazy or something. I like that you get it. That's why--I'm sorry. I thought it would be nice."

"It was nice," Otabek said. "It is nice. It's not your fault, JJ. I like your family." He scooped up a little mint jelly with his lamb. It was more edible than he'd expected. "Well. Most of your family."

"Me too," JJ said, and he laughed. "I'm still sorry, though. My girlfriend Isabella, she told me that they could be a lot."

He didn't want to listen to JJ feeling guilty the rest of the day. "When did you get a girlfriend?"

"I--" JJ looked like he'd been caught stealing. "I think she's my girlfriend? I didn't really ask her, yet, but--"

"Oh," Otabek deadpanned. "I understand how it is."

"She kissed me," JJ said, defensively. "And she's beautiful. And really smart. She goes to my school, want to see a picture?"

"Sure," Otabek said, putting his plate down. Behind them, in the driveway, a car was roaring to life. They ignored it.

By the time JJ's mother came out to see if they wanted dessert, Otabek was feeling better.


End file.
